Projects

Volunteered for Career Day at Ivy Preparation Academy; created a popup makers lab for the middle school students to engage with emerging technologies such as a 3D printer, littleBits, MakeyMakey, and Google Cardboard

March

To help promote Thinc Week, UGA's entrepreneurship and innovation week, and encourage students to "start something", I collaborated with engineering students to construct the Before I Graduate chalkboard. This is inspired by the "Before I Die" walls that are seen all over the world. We unveiled the board at our student center, got a great response, and were able to fill the board twice.

February

Operated a popup makers lab, in conjunction with the Learning, Design, and Technology department, for middle and high school students from Atlanta Public Schools. Engaged students in hands-on activities with emerging technologies such as littleBits, MakeyMakey, and Google Cardboard.

Appointed to the leadership team of the University Innovation Fellows to shape direction of organization regarding measurement, culture, and inclusion. Co-faciliated the annual meetup in Silicon Valley hosting 160 students from over 50 institutions. Led an Ignite session discussing my experiences as a fellow.

January

Collaborated with the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Science Library to create the university's first public makerspace. Managed a budget of $16,000 to purchase tools such as 3D printers, a laser cutter, Arduinos, littleBits, and more.

2014

November

Spoke for two consecutive years at HBCU Innovation Summit hosted by UNCF, APLU, and Stanford’s Epicenter about my experience as a University Innovation Fellow.

Featured on the White House blog for fostering entrepreneurship on campus. Article found here.

Featured in university newspaper for starting initiatives on campus. Article found here.

2013

November

Wrote editoral on importance of entrepreneurship in university newspaper: Article found here.

August

Millennial Trains Project - I participated in a 10 day, 7 city journey that enabled me and 23 other millennial passengers (18-35 years old) to "identify, evaluate and explore emerging opportunities and challenges in communities where the trains stops while advancing a crowdfunded project that benefits, serves, and inspires others". Stops along the route included San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C. The project I worked on during the trip was an idea for a non-traditional college that cultivates interconnected mindsets in self-directed learners. In each city, I explored the benefits of creating colleges that are more like incubators in that they help students find their passions, develop skills, and support their projects. More information can be found at the blog I created for the project: http://www.themadresearcher.wordpress.com

March

Named aUniversity Innovation Fellow. This program is a part ofa national movement of students who spark initiatives on their campuses ensuring students gain the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge required for them to compete in the economy of the future. The program is run by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), funded by NSF as a partnership between Stanford University and VentureWell. Learn more about University of Georgia’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship ecosystem here.

2012

Change Over Time - a class project over two semsters that uses art and technology to teach science in the classroom. Students were tasked with visualizing science prompts with a single piece of paper. They also took pictures of each creation to create a time lapse video that displays the change of the paper over time.

2011

Volunteered with the CS^2 (Computer Science, Community Service) club, a student-run, volunteer organization dedicated to teaching computer skills in the community. I was a computer club site coordinator at the West End Center in Roanoke, VA. Volunteers from the club go to the site once a week and assist in teaching elementary and middle school students about technology and important computer skills.

Worked on the Mission: Evolution project, a MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition sponsored project. I worked with tenth grade biology students who use their knowledge of evolutionary biology to build new games in Spore Galatic Adventures.

Successfully defended my thesis on my experiences with building and demoing a do-it-yourself build multitouch table for children. I also discussed example learning application with the use of digital cards.